Free! A Haru Love Story
by Chapgirl
Summary: The swim club is thrown into turmoil when their childhood friend Kei returns to town. They meet each other a the swim club only to find out that Kei is actually a girl! Cover Image is Kei. PLEASE FOLLOW AND REVIEW! THANKS! Ignores Eternal Summer, sorry...
1. Chapter 1

It was a hot spring day, almost summertime, as the Iwatobi swim club headed for practice to the roof. As always, Haru jumped into the water as soon as he had dropped his clothes, which left the others smiling. The cold, smooth water touched his skin, gently brushing past him. After a few seconds he opened his eyes, and what he saw gave him such a shock that he opened his mouth, coming gasping to the surface. He exited the pool almost as quickly as he had entered.

"Haru, what?!" Makoto exclaimed. Haru just pointed into the water. There, at the bottom of the pool was sitting a young girl, about their age, waving at them and then slowly ascending.

"G-g-ghost!" Makoto shouted, trying to hide behind the shorter and smaller Haru.

"No, Mako-chan, I don't think so." Nagisa said with a cheeky smile.

The pool girl grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her body and then hugged Haru, grinning broadly.

"Haru, guys, it's so good to see you again! Wow, you really didn't change much!" She exclaimed joyfully.

Haru just looked at her puzzled.

"Ex-excuse me, but do we know you?" Rei asked slowly. The girl let go of Haru, turned to him, then shook her head, leaving water to splash from her short reddish-brown hair.

"I don't think the two of us do. Hi, I'm Amakura Kei." She extended her hand for him to shake it, and so he did.

"Ryuugazaki Rei." He said.

"Ke-Kei-chan?!" Nagisa exclaimed wide-eyed and Kei just smiled.

"E-eeeh?!" Makoto couldn't believe his eyes.

"Kei is a boy." Haru commented calmly.

"Eh? Now that's really rude, Haru!" Kei put her hands on her waist and scowled at him.

"B-but, Kei-chan, you're a girl, really?" Nagisa still looked flustered.

"Well, do I look like boy to you?" She asked, opening her towel for them to look at her definitely female bikini-clad body. They were left without a word, so she closed her towel.

"Say, Makoto, don't tell me you guys really believed I was a boy?" She asked.

"Well, you always used to refer to yourself as boku." Makoto raised his hands in defense.

"That's because my father taught me that... And boku is also used by girls." She started pouting.

"And Kei is a boy's name." Nagisa added.

"And Nagisa's a girly name." She returned, sticking out her tongue like a child.

"Kei always acted like a boy." Haru said.

"What? I refused to bathe with you, I cried a lot and what about that time at the airport, what did you guys think about me kissing Haru?" She pointed at the slightly dazzled star of the swim club.

"K-kiss?" Gou exclaimed.

"W-well, we just thought you were, you know..." Makoto started.

"Gay?! Really? Fffh." She gave them all a defeated look

"Well, well, why don't you guys tell us all about this whilst catching up over a cool drink somewhere?" Ama-chan-sensei suggested and they happily agreed.

They found themselves cramped around a table at a small cafe, cold drinks in hand, chatting away cheerfully..

"Eh? So you guys met at the swim club where Kei's father was giving diving lessons for a few months?" Rei asked.

"Yup, that's right, Rei-chan." Nagisa said, smiling. He had been surprised at first, but was now really excited about Kei's appearance.

"Really, but that means my brother was there as well?" Gou figured. She had never heard of the other girl, but then again, if they had all thought Kei a boy… Looking at the cute Kei now, Gou found that hard to believe.

"Yes, I already sent him a message, asking him to come here." Makoto said, pointing to his phone.

"Rin is coming." Kei asked with shiny eyes "How nice. Memories…." Her eyes drifted towards the clear blue sky.

Just about that moment Rin turned a corner and came in sight. He was jogging, a little out of breath.

"Haru, everyone!" He waved at them. He seemed to notice Kei and nodded at her absent-mindedly, then turned to Makoto.

"So, where's Kei?" He asked, confused, looking for the boy.

"There. Sitting right in front of your eyes." Makoto pointed at Kei who slapped his hand, grinning.

"It's rude to point at people, Makoto." She said with a smile. "Hi, Rin!" She waved at him with a bright smile.

"Kei is a girl?!" Rin asked, blushing furiously. "Since when?!"

"Since pretty much forever." She winked at him.

Rin sat down, taken aback and the others filled him in on their encounter.

"So, at least you all were as shocked as I was..." Rin said. "Though I think Haru might have taken the most damage..." He pointed at their friend.

Right to that point Haru had been staring off into the distance without saying a single word. Kei looked at him and then just said:

"No, I think he's just happily concluding that his first kiss wasn't stolen by a boy..."

"Oh, right that happened..." Rin said, frowning.

"But, Kei-san, you really kissed Haru-senpai?" Gou asked, stunned.

"Ah, well, back then I had a serious crush on Haru and I thought, well, I would never see him again, so I figured I could at least take a little memento with me." She blushed a little.

"So you confessed at the airport just before leaving? How romantic!" Ama-sensei exclaimed.

"Um, no I didn't exactly confess... Haru had never any interest in much else than the water..."

"Well, why don't we leave all that love talk behind and ask about why you're here and why you ended up in our pool?" Makoto brought the three girls back to reason, seeing that the guys were feeling quite uncomfortable about that topic.

So Kei explained that her father had recently opened up a diving school in Hawaii and with him so close she wanted to meet her old friends again, moving into a little apartment, living by herself.

"I'll be joining you in school tomorrow and figured that you would definitely be in the swim club so I took a little dive, waiting for you all." She pointed out. And, well, she hadn't been wrong.

"So, Kei-senpai, you'll be joining us at the swim club?" Rei asked.

"Huh? Not really, no." She said " I don't like swimming that much..."

"Huh, but you were in the-" Rei started, only to be cut off by Kei.

"I love the water, though." She smiled "I live to dive!"

Memories of these words spoken from a much smaller Kei back in the old days brought a smile on the faces of the rest of the group.


	2. Chapter 2

They sat a while in the Café, reminiscing about the past, and one by one everyone left for their homes, until Kei and Rin were the only ones left.

"Really, I still can't believe you're a girl." Rin said, sighing and shaking his head, yet granting her a gentle smile.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to face the truth, huh?" She smiled, a relaxed expression on her face "I can't believe you guys all mistook me for a boy. Though, if I really think about it, my father always somehow tried to turn me into a boy." She chuckled quietly and Rin watched her, mesmerized. She noticed his gaze and asked:

"What?"

"Ah, no, it's just..." Rin averted his eyes, searching for the right words. "I was wondering whether you can still hold your breath the longest of all of us..." He finally said.

"Oh, that? No problem!" She shot him a mischievous grin. "Why don't you come to the next practice and we'll all try out."

"So you'll be joining the swimming club?" He looked at her, curiously. He was very aware of her overall aversion of swimming.

"Ah, well, I'm not really sure, but I really want to spend time with you guys, so I figured joining the club would be the best way to do so..." She sighed, stirring the straw in her now empty glass.

"Even though you always hated swimming." Rin grinned which put a smile back on her face.

"Hate might be a strong expression." She told him. "I just can't understand why you'd want to spend time on the surface when your can relax under water." She winked at him. "But seriously, do come visit, ok? I wanted to see you just as much as the others."

He raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "Not just Haru?" He asked. In answer to that Kei blushed and said:

"That was a long time ago..." She pouted.

"True." Rin said mysteriously. "Well, of course I'll come visit. We have joint practice every now and then anyway."

"That's great." Kei smiled broadly and Rin turned bright red at the sight of her.

"W-well, I really should go now, or my roommate will be worried." He said hastily and got to his feet.

"Sure. I'll see you!" Kei waved as Rin took off, then leaned back into her chair. The guys really hadn't changed; and she was ecstatic about that.

The next day, at school Kei made her way to the classroom. Or she at least tried.

"3-B, 3-B..." she murmured, looking at the signs around her. She didn't have much of a sense of direction and the vice principal's description hadn't helped her much.

"Ah, Kei-senpai!" A voice sounded over the hallway.

Kei looked up and saw a cheerful Gou waving at her.

"Gou-chan!" She said and hurried over to her "I'm lucky you're here! Could you guide me to class 3-B?" She asked. Gou's eyes opened wide.

"3-B?" She looked astonished and in that moment reminded Kei very much of her brother, Rin.

"Yup, see." She showed Gou her student card. "Why, what's wrong."

"Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai are also in 3-B." Gou answered, still surprised.

"Really? How cool is that!" Kei grinned and caught Gou staring at her. "What? Is something wrong with my face?"

"No, no, nothing wrong!" Gou quickly exclaimed and blabbered on. "I was just thinking that when you're smiling your face looks just like the sun... Ah! Sorry, that sounded embarrassing!" She covered her mouth and blushed.

"No, no, it's ok." Still, Kei was turning equally red, but then smiled. "Thank you."

They set off to the classroom and Gou asked:

"So, Senpai, will you be joining the swimming club?"

"Well, actually, I'd very much love to. But I'm not much of a swimmer... the only thing I'm good at is diving..." She shrugged and looked a little bit lost, which made Gou chuckle.

"That's ok, really." Gou said, reassuring her. "You see, Rei-kun couldn't even swim when he entered."

"Really? How did that happen?" Kei's eyes gleamed with true curiousness, and so Gou recounted the story how Rei had joined the swimming club; or rather, how Naigsa sort of forced him to. At the end, Kei laughed.

"Oh, that's so like Nagisa!" She exclaimed. "But I'm happy they found another member, really, I don't think Haru can live without swimming!"

"That might be right." Gou smiled "Here we are." She pointed at the sign above them saying "3-B".

"Thank you so much, Gou-chan, you saved me! I'll see you later?" Kei looked at her new friend.

"I sure hope so!" Gou stated and then they parted ways as the younger girl headed to her own classroom.

Kei entered the room and smiled as Haru and Makoto stared at her in amazement. Before she could go talk to the, though, the teacher entered and greeted her. She handed him her papers, then introduced herself and took a seat in the back of the classroom.

As soon as the bell rang, a crowd of students was flocked around her.

"Hey, hey, Amakawa-san, is it true that you grew up all around the world? How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend? Where's your family? Your Japanese is really good!" Questions were racing around her head and she smiled, tying to sort out the flurry of words. Rumours sure travelled fast, huh?

"Until middle school I was just living in different parts of Japan, but later my dad got assignments all around the world, yes." She answered. "Just like the rest of you, I'm eighteen; no I'm currently not dating anyone; my dad is staying in Hawaii." She took a deep breath "And I'm happy that you all welcome me so nicely, but if you'll excuse me, I'd really like to spend time with my friends."

The other looked at her, befuddled, as she rose and leisurely strode over to Haru and Makoto.

"Hi guys." She said and smiled, dropping into an empty chair beside them.

"Wow, that's..." Makoto commented on the others' reaction. Kei just smiled.

"They're just curious." She said, shrugging. "I'm used to it by now."

"You mean that happened to you every time?" Makoto stared at her in bewilderment.

"Umm... Yeah, but that's normal, isn't it?" She asked, shooting him a confused look.

"Well..." Makoto really couldn't reply to that. He had never seen a class go so viral over a transfer student before.

"Will you join?" Haru asked.

"The club? Yeah, I really want to spend as much time with you guys as possible." She smiled.

"You're not embarrassed to say that?" Haru looked at her, blinking.

"Not, really, no, you guys were the closest friends I've had till now." She told him. "Every other place I went most girls were a bit unfriendly... and the guys were, I don't know... weird. It's like you're the only normal people I've ever met..." Kei sighed and shook her head as she replayed the scenes of her transfers in her head.

"Is that so?" Makoto asked, thinking that all those other girls probably had just been jealous, and the other guys might have been intimidated by her looks. For Kei had indeed turned from a tomboyish child into an extremely pretty teenage girl. Especially the way she smiled... it seemed as if the sun was rising every time the corners of her mouth did.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the bell rang, Kei and Haru sprang from their chairs. Kei grinned at him and said:

"Race you to the pool?"

Haru gave the slightest of smiles and off they sprinted. Avoiding other students, turning corners, over the schoolyard, up the stairs towards the rooftop pool. It was a nose to nose race until right before the changing rooms. When Kei stopped to get changed, Haru just kept on running, throwing his clothes away whilst running, revealing his swimsuit underneath. He sprinted through the door and with a loud splash landed in the water. Kei looked after him, befuddled, and suddenly burst out laughing.

When the others arrived shortly afterwards she was still shaking with laughter.

"Kei, what's up?" Makoto asked, granting her a bewildered look.

"I was wrong, Haru did change!" She pressed through her laughter.

"Huh?" Nagisa looked at her, not understanding the meaning of her words.

"He's now wearing his swimsuit underneath his uniform! He didn't use to be such a huge swimming otaku, did he?" Kei held her belly, slowly calming down.

Nagisa started laughing as well. "You're right. I guess seeing that for the first time would leave you quite surprised..."

After everyone finished changing (Kei now in a proper swimsuit) they joined Haru in the water. Kei immediately descended to the bottom, opening her eyes wide. They were already used to the water and chlorine only stung ever so slightly. Water changed the perspective, the colour of things. Kei loved the flurry of sunlight that rippled through the water, the air bubbles the guys created whilst training. Rei was swimming his butterfly overhead and Kei frowned as she noticed something off in his swimming style. She came to the surface and said:

"Rei, could you come over for a second?"

Though he looked confused he did as she asked and she explained to him what she had seen. He looked at her, puzzled.

"Well, I really did hit a wall with my times, but how could you see?" He asked, unbelieving.

"I don't know, I guess spending all this time with my Dad in all these high-class swimming clubs trained my eyes..." She shrugged. She had no explanation for it, really. But considering she had always accompanied her father on his work, this was the most likely explanation.

"Hm, I'll try it, then." And so Rei got back in his track and swam slightly different. Almost immediately Kei could see a change in the way the water moved around him.

"Yes, that's it! Keep going!" She cheered, though she wasn't sure he'd even heard her.

"Wow, Rei-kun, you just hit your personal best!" Gou exclaimed when he had finished. The others were now interested in what had happened and Kei explained what she'd seen.

"Such a tiny detail..." Mamoru said, scratching his head.

"None of us would have noticed." Nagisa added earnestly.

"Oh, no, really now..." Kei turned a tad pink, scratching her head.

"Kei, look at me." Haru said. Kei turned towards him, now blushing more furiously, as Haru swam off.

"Huh? Ah, um, yes, sure." And she dove down.

In that order an hour went by, and they were taking a break when Rin arrived.

"What? I come here just for you and see you all slacking off?" He asked with a frown.

"Oh, sure, just for us." Makoto murmured and Rin blushed as he turned to Haru.

"So, what's up with you guys?" He cocked his head.

"We're taking a small break." Haru answered in his no-nonsense tone.

"It's true, Rin, they just trained quite hard for a whole hour without a break." Kei backed them up. Rin looked at her and said:

"Hm. Well, if you say so."

After a few minutes they returned to training, Rin now joining them in the water. Kei was returning to the bottom of the pool. No matter what she did, nothing compared to this feeling under water. She closed her eyes and just felt the gentle streams around her body. It felt as if she could almost breathe in. She was so calm and satisfied that she didn't notice the others scream on the surface. Only then did she open her eyes when someone had grabbed her around her waist and dragged her upward, causing her to release the air from her lungs. She came up, gagging and struggling against the force against her waist, which, she now realised, were Haru's arms.

"Haru!" She coughed, furious. "What in the world are you doing?!"

"What are you doing?" He returned in a calm voice, looking at her sternly.

"Kei-chan, are you okay?" Nagisa exclaimed, a worried expression on his face.

"Um, I would be, if Haru hadn't pulled this stunt." A little calmer now, she was shaking water out of her ear.

"We thought you were drowning, Kei!" Rin explained, looking exasperated.

"Drowning? I was just relaxing..." She sighed, but felt a little guilty for making them worry so much. "I don't drown."

"Still, you didn't respond to any of our calls, so we just figured..." Makoto said, shrugging.

"Aaah, don't think, okay? Next time I'm really drowning I'll call for your help. Though I doubt that will ever happen." She smiled absent-mindedly.

"How can you be so sure of that, senpai?" Rei asked.

"Dunno, the water's almost like lover to me. Your lover wouldn't kill you now, right?" She said that so matter-of-factly that everyone just stared at each other.

"If lovers are jealous though, they'll kill." Gou said, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"Still, Neptune has nobody to be jealous of, has he?" She grinned.

"Would you stop this creepy talk?!" Rin was both blushing and looking disgusted.

"Eh? Rin, don't tell me you can't stand love talk." Kei liked teasing him; she had found great joy in it when they were children and was now equally happy.

"O-of course not!" But he turned an even deeper shape of red. "You just sound way too much like Haru with your water talk." He pointed at the airhead.

"Do I? I wander if my emotions towards water made me fall in love with him?" These last words she spoke in English, whispering right into Rin's ears which now seemed to be emitting steam. Kei was holding her belly laughing, in answer to that.

"Hahahahahaha, Rin, sorry, but you're still the easiest to tease of all of them!"

But in the back of her heart she wondered just how true her own words might have been.


	4. Chapter 4

As the days and weeks passed, Kei just kind of naturally turned into Iwatobi's swimming coach. She was trying her hardest to develop a proper training regimen. After some weeks she came to a conclusion.

"I think we should go on a training camp." She said during one of their frequent non-pool meetings. "Spending all day in the water and training to your heart's content seems the right thing to do, don't you think?"

At the words "spending all day in the water" Harus eyes started shining

"Really? But where are we supposed to go?" Rei asked.

"Well, I actually already discussed that with Gou-chan and we decided to visit one of my father's acquaintances at his diving school in Okinawa. Does that seem alright to you?" She looked at each of them.

"Sure, if coach Kei thinks it's the best, then that's what we'll do." Nagisa said, grinning, since he knew what would be coming his way.

"Nagisa-a! I told you already, stop calling me coach…" But somehow she knew it was a useless request. He still called all of the boys –chan, after all

"I think diving would be a nice alternative as well." Makoto said, smiling gently.

"Makoto..." Haru started, thinking of his friend's open-water trauma.

"It's okay, Haru, as long as I'm with you guys I'll be alright." Makoto smiled reassuringly.

"Makoto, I'm sorry, I totally forgot..." Kei had a very worried look on her face. She felt guilty for not remembering.

"Well, as I already said, it's okay as long as I'm with you." He said and patted Haru's head. And that wasn't a lie, he felt safer now than ever.

"Okay... then that's settled!" Kei's expression turned from worried into happy. "It's a pity though, that Rin can't come with us, don't you think?" From everyone's expressions she could conclude that they thought the same way.

"Um, I think if I talk to my brother and his club leader, he may be able to take a short leave..." Gou interjected, wrinkling her eyebrows as she was thinking hard how to convince him to do that.

"Really, Gou-chan?! That would be great!" Kei took her friends' hands in excitement.

"You know, Kei-senpai." Gou started, unable to hold back any longer. "I've been meaning to ask you fro a while now, but how exactly do feel about onii-san?"

"Eh? I like him, of course." Kei said without a second thought.

"Wh-whaaat? You like him?!" Gou blushed bright red, wondering if her brother might have a chance after all.

"Me, me, what about me, Gou-coach." Nagisa raised his hand in excitement.

"Well, except for the coach thing I like Nagisa a lot as well." Kei answered. "And I like Makoto of course and Rei, too..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes trailed to Haru who was only listening half-heartedly. She bet he was wishing to be in the pool right now.

"And Haru chan?" Nagisa added. Kei stared at him, eyes widening and after a few moments added:

"Yes, Haru as well." But her voice didn't sound very convincing.

So the next Monday morning everything was settled and they waited in front of the small bus the school had rented for them. Ama-chan-sensei would be driving. Only Gou and Rin hadn't arrived yet. But they soon heard some bickering along the way, when Gou and Rin came in sight.

"I can't believe we're going to be late because you couldn't decide what to pack!" Gou complained.

"That's not like it at all!" Rin exclaimed.

"Really? Because I saw you thinking about packing your tux! Your tuxedo! I mean, this is a swim club training camp, not a Goukon!" Gou pointed at Rin, an exasperated expression on her face.

"I didn't-!" But Rin stopped short when he saw the others staring at him, bewildered. "H-hi, guys, Kei."

"Hey... Rin." Makoto said hesitantly. Everyone greeted each other and finally they got on the bus.

"I want to go to the back, the back!" Nagisa exclaimed and practically jumped on one of the back seats.

"Nagisa-kun, you're always so noisy." Rei complained, but smiled and joined him.

"That seat empty?" Rin pointed to the seat beside Kei. His cheeks were faintly red.

"Sure." She smiled and patted the seat. "Go ahead."

But before he could sit down, Gou had dragged him beside her, since she was desperately trying to make up for the time she'd missed with her brother, even if that meant disregarding his feelings.

As Makoto was the most reliable of them all, he was ordered by Ama-chan-sensei to be the tour guide and sit next to her during the drive. So Haru was left to sit beside Kei.

"Hey." Kei smiled at him shyly. He nodded.

"You're gonna love this place, I promise!" She started, eager to initiate a conversation. "It's beautiful, the sea shines azure blue, the fish are colour- and plentiful and they have the best seafood around."

"Mackerel?" Haru asked, growing slightly more interested.

"Yep, great Mackerel. Actually, there's this one off-the-hook fish-barbeque. They have the best Mackerel I know." She smiled broadly.

Haru's eyes started shining.

"So who's this friend of your father's, Kei-chan?" Nagisa asked from the back.

"Uhm, he's a guy we got to know while my Dad was still going around training people. He coached his son, Jun-chan, for a while. Actually, I think the little guy took a bit of a fancy in me." She told them, smiling as she remembered the small boy's awkwardness.

"Wow, you sure are popular, senpai." Rei commented, sounding impressed.

"What? No way, most guys don't even talk to me!" She laughed and waved it off. "But Jun-chan always hung around when he didn't have to train and he also always made me wear that..." Kei's voice trailed off with a sigh.

"Wear what?" Gou asked.

"Eh? No, I can't tell you, it's too embarrassing..." She blushed.

"What? Now you're making me even more curious!" Gou said, while the guys' minds were going crazy over whatever embarrassing item she had worn.


	5. Chapter 5

Some time later the topic of the embarrassing clothing was dropped and they simply enjoyed their bus drive into the blue. They were happily chatting over this and that, mainly swimming and water of course.

At the late afternoon, after crossing the deep blue sea and breathing in the salty breeze, they finally arrived at their destination.

Kei made her way out of the bus and twirled around, enjoying the familiar scent she hadn't smelled for some years.

"And now?" Makoto asked, taking a look around with big eyes.

"We'll meet Jun-chan and his dad." Kei said and started making her way toward a large beach house. "Follow me." She told them happily.

A few seconds later a tall guy came running out the house.

"Onee-chan!" He shouted and lifted Kei high up into the air. "Long time no see."

Rin was already angrily approaching the two of them, and even Haru felt uncomfortable at the sight of them, when the boy finally let go of Kei and gently set her back on the ground.

"Ju-Jun-chan?!" Kei exclaimed in surprise. The boy nodded with a grin. "Wow! You've grown so much, I can't believe it!"

"It's me, I tell ya!" He said, proudly sticking out his chest.

"Uhm, senpai..." Rei looked as if he'd just been exposed to something very uncomfortable.

"Oh, right!" Kei slapped her forehead and turned towards the others, smiling. "Jun-chan, these are the guys from my swimming club, Rei, Nagisa, Makoto, Haru, Gou and Rin, and this is Ama-chan-sensei. Everyone, this is Jun-chan."

"Oh, I hoped, you'd leave the -chan already, really..." Jun sighed. "Hi, everyone, it's nice to meet you!" He smiled and bowed respectfully in greeting and they reciprocated the gesture. After exchanging formalities they went inside the charming beach house.

"N-nee, Kei, what did you say how old Jun was exactly?" Rin asked, forcing a smile.

"Um, he's three years younger, so he should be 15 right now..." Kei answered, furrowing her eyebrows while thinking.

"He's just too big for his age..." Makoto commented at a loss for better words.

"Hm, that might be because his Mom's an American, you know?" She cocked her head and looked at them.

Half American! They were all quite shocked, even though it explained Jun's complexion and his golden hair. He did look much like a Californian surfer.

Jun then led them into the house, naturally grabbing Kei's suitcase, but never bothering with taking any of the others'. With his free hand he grabbed Kei around her waist, then glanced back, shooting the other boys an inquisitive and critical look, while Kei was happily thinking about the reencounter. Since she had lived outside Japan for quite some time, she did not notice Jun's rather possessive behaviour. Rin was feeling quite annoyed, but he forgot his negative emotions the moment they stepped inside the beach house.

The house was made of wooden planks and had a western interior. On the walls hung colourful photos of fish that Jun an his father had taken over the years. A stack of flyers was neatly piled on a small table by the entrance. Many windows and a partly glass ceiling made the reddish wood glow in the sunlight and lit up the place overall. It was a truly beautiful house.

"Beautiful!" Rei exclaimed with shining eyes and Kei smiled gently.

"It is, isn't it?" She took in the scene. The boys were still taking off their shoes when the girls were already taking a few steps inside, looking overwhelmed.

"This is amazing!" Gou said, looking around, dazzled.

"Very!" Kei agreed. "You see, Jun-chan's mother is an interior designer."

"Oh, wow!" Nagisa commented. "That's cool."

They had now all advanced to the corridor, following Jun who was still carrying Kei's bag.

"So these are your rooms." Jun said, appointing a room to the boys and the girls each. When he came to the girls' room he just walked by briskly, taking Kei's trunk along.

"Um, Jun-chan, you forgot to leave my stuff..." Kei interjected, halting at the girls' room's door, shooting him a confused look.

"No way, obviously you're staying in my room." Jun said and kept walking with her suitcase.

"Excuse me?!" Kei sprinted over to him and grabbed his shirt. "No matter how close we were, but staying in a room with a boy your age is just..." Kei blushed and looked to the ground.

"What? We used to sleep in the same room all the time!" Jun complained, pouting.

"Yeah, but you were just twelve back then... Now... You've grown so much..." She blushed even deeper.

Jun clicked his tongue in disapproval. Rin, who had come to ask Kei about the training schedule, had listened to their conversation and was now glaring at Jun.

"You... Little brat! Gimme that!" He grabbed Kei's bag from Jun and carried it into the girls' room, leaving the other boy behind. Gou and Ama-chan-sensei had already left the room to explore the house and the grounds outside.

"Ah, thank you, Rin." Kei said quietly. She was a little embarrassed that he had witnessed that scene. For a few seconds Rin, with his back to her, didn't say anything. Then he asked hesitantly:

"Say, did you really sleep together with that guy?" He turned around to face her, his cheeks slightly flushed.

Now Kei was truly flustered.

"Well, that was three years ago." She tried defending herself frantically "He was still a little kid back then!"

"A kid, huh?" Rin said, raising and eyebrow and imagining a younger Jun and Kei sharing a room at night. He decided he did not like the idea of that.

"Yup." Kei sighed, looking tired. "He was always a bit clingy, but this... Is a little over the top. Even so, I don't want to offend him." She sat down on one of the beds and opened her suitcase, taking out her diving goggles. Then her face lit up. "Oh, well, I guess tomorrow we'll go to the bea-" her sentence was cut short by Makoto's voice.

"No! Haru, wait, come back!" He shouted, making Kei jump.

She and Rin got out of the room just to see Makoto chasing after Haru who had already stripped down to his swimming trunks and was, quite obviously, headed for the sea.

"Haru-sempai!" Rei exclaimed at a loss after stepping out on the corridor.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa followed his friend.

But Haru was already out of the house when the rest of the group stared running, too. Out of instinct, Kei had held on to her diving glasses and run along.

Since the beach was only a few hundred feet away from the house, they arrived there in no time. And, needless to say, Haru had already flung himself into the waves. To everybody's surprise though, Kei followed right after him, still fully clothed with only her goggles to protect her eyes from the salty water.

The familiar sensation of waves rushing around her body embraced Kei without hesitation. The sea had always been her most trusted ally. Indeed she had always felt more like a mermaid than a human. Not that she'd tell anybody; ever again. Once had proven to be far enough of a disastrous decision.

She looked around and could see the wildlife that surrounded her quite clearly. Since they were so close to the beach, of course there weren't so many fish, but just seeing a few of them with their bodies glittering in the afternoon sun were already enough for Kei. She felt extremely calm.

Soon she looked upward and realised that all of the clubs members had followed Haru's example and jumped into the sea. They were taking big, powerful strikes to leap against the slashing waves. Kei had always found it fascinating how the sea was so playful on top when it could be so calm and peaceful underwater.


	6. Chapter 6

After a while Kei decided to end that spontaneous swimming session and gathered everyone, including the dissatisfied Haru, on the beach. There, Jun was standing, wearing an expression that constantly changed between amused, annoyed and flabbergasted. Kei's clothes were dripping wet when she got out of the sea and Jun approached her quickly.

"Say, Kei-neechan" He whispered into her ear, looking uncomfortable. "Your classmates really are weird, aren't they?"

At such an innocent comment Kei just laughed. It seemed as if Jun hadn't changed so much after all. She reached up and ruffled through his golden hair, which made him blush lightly.

"Don't worry, Jun-chan. They just love being in the water, that's all." She smiled at him, thinking about the club members and their obsession with swimming.

"Yo, Kei, areyou coming or what?!" Rin looked strangely annoyed, standing with the others who were also all waiting for her to join them.

"Ah, of course!" She turned towards them, Jun following her like a lost puppy. Rin glared at the other boy, not taking his eyes off him

"What's that wild kid doing here?" He asked, inclining his head towards Jun.

"Rin! Don't be rude! After all we're staying at Jun-cha's house!" Kei scolded him, scowling. He clicked his tongue, but didn't say anything further.

"So? What did you get us out of the water for?" Haru asked, always glancing back and forth between Kei and the waves.

The others were also looking at her inquisitively. Even Ama-chan-sensei and Gou-chan looked curious.

"Well, first of all, let's wrap up this unplanned swimming session." She said smirking a little. "And then let's start unpacking and making dinner. After all I promised Ojii-san that we would cook for him if he let's us stay here."

"Um... you did?" Makoto asked, taken aback.

"Huh, did I forget to tell you?" From the looks on their faces she could tell she had. "Ah, haha, I had the felling I forgot something..." She was somewhat flustered by that.

"Well, if that's the case, we cannot disappoint our host, can we?" Rei, the voice of reason came to speak.

"Looks like it." Nagisa added, though he looked slightly pained.

Haru pouted a bit, probably since he didn't want to stop swimming.

"Well, that's okay..." Rin said. "But, it's not like I can cook..." He shrugged and faced the others. "What about you guys?"

He looked at blank faces.

"Well, if it's me, my mother always does the cooking in our house..." Makoto said hesitantly.

"Yup, here as well." Nagisa raised his hand guiltily.

"I definitely cannot cook. It's not beautiful, it's very messy." Rei added matter-of-factly.

"I can cook." Haru commented quietly.

"Haru, grilling mackerel does not count as cooking skill." Makoto shook his head. "Really..."

"I don't _always_ have Mackerel." Haru murmured, sounding a bit offended.

"Well, I can do the basics, of course." Gou said "But it's nothing out-of-the-ordinary..."

"I always cook for myself, I don't mind." Ama-chan-sensei said.

"Oh, well, but it's not like us girls can do everything, right?" Kei sighed and studied the boys. "Well, at first, let's get a shower, unpack and meet in an hour to go shopping, alright?"

Everyone agreed and they all went back to their rooms. Jun's house had two showers and so they got on quicker while getting ready. Ama-sensei was the first to take a shower and Gou and Kei were unpacking, Kei having changed into dry running shorts and a jumper. Gou had left to discuss something with her brother when Kei heard someone knock on the door.

"Come in." Kei said, just folding up her last piece of clothing and closing her suitcase.

Jun popped his head in hesitantly.

"Kei-neechan, you tell me when you need anything, alright?" He asked with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. Kei blinked at him, wondering what suddenly made hi come by and say that.

"And... also, I'm sorry about before, I didn't mean to offend you." He pointed at her suitcase and put on a pair of extremely cute puppy dog eyes. Seeing that, Kei just had to forgive him. She gave him a hearty hug, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Oh, Jun-chan, don't worry! It's all forgotten! I'm sure you had no ill intentions whatsoever." As she opened her eyes she found herself staring at Haru, who had just returned from showering, hair still wet, watching the scene with bewilderment. He looked their way for a couple seconds, then just carried on and left without saying anything. Kei immediately let go of the furiously blushing and stupidly grinning Jun and followed the onlooker.

"Haru! Wait!" She said as soon as they had both stepped outside the house and onto the backyard beach. Haru turned around to look at her inquisitively.

"It's not... what you just saw... that's not like that at all." She stumbled over her own words, unsure what to say, or why she was even making an effort to explain. When he still made no comment an unease built up in her chest. Just when Kei was about to open her mouth, Haru said:

"What's not what?" He asked. "What are you talking about?" His tone was different from before, almost harsh.

"I... uhm... me and Jun-chan... we're not... lovers… or anything." With those last words her voice trailed off and she just stood there, feeling awkward.

"Ok." Haru said. He was just about to turn around and go back into the house again.

"Wait! Um, do you mind... not telling the others what you saw?" Kei felt her cheeks redden.

"Sure." He turned towards the house again.

"Is... is that... all?" Unsure of what to make of his behaviour, Kei stammered slightly. Her chest tightened further and she clenched her hands.

"What else should there be?" Haru asked and Kei couldn't read his expression. "What you do with that boy shouldn't be of any concern to me, should it?" And with that he turned around and left this time for sure, leaving behind a confused Kei.

"No... It shouldn't..." She whispered, to nobody in particular, while she felt her eyes filling with tears. She swallowed and shook her head. She wouldn't cry over this stupid idiot ever again! That's what she had sworn to herself a long time ago.


	7. Chapter 7

Following that incident, nobody made a comment about it, so Kei concluded that Haru had been true to his word and not told anyone.

They all went shopping together and had the most hilarious time preparing dinner with a handful of clueless guys, of who Haru was surprisingly the most capable still, involving a slaughtered carrot, re-cooking the sauce and a handful of band-aids and cooling patches. In the end, though, everyone was satisfied with their work. Just when the food was ready to serve, they heard clacking and footsteps in the hallway.

"Jun, I'm home!" A deep male voice made its way into the dining room. Jun, as well as Kei jumped up. Kei broke into the broadest of smiles.

"Ojii-san!" She exclaimed and flung herself into the arms of the middle-aged man that had just entered the room. He was muscular and tanned, wore a fluffy beard and was studying his guests through warm, brown eyes.

"Kei, you've grown." He said, smiling at her and patting her head gently. Kei smiled back, feeling comfortable immediately; Jun's father had become like a second father for her.

"Thanks! You haven't changed at all, though!" She answered, glancing at him.

"So, will you introduce me?" He asked, pointing at the rest while Kei turned to face the others who looked a little overwhelmed at her reaction.

"Sure! Everyone this is Sugiyoshi Akiba, Jun-chan's father." She said with a smile.

After introductions had been made, everyone dug in. After the long day the hot food felt really good and warmed them up from the inside out.

"But Kei, I still think it's a pity that you won't get into modelling." Akiba said later that evening after they had all eaten their fill. At these words, Kei's cheeks exploded in all shades of red, for she was certain about what was to come afterwards. Desperate, she tried to open up a different topic.

"Oh, well... but, say, what is Obaa-san doing?" She forced a smile, but Akiba saw through her evasion tactics sure enough.

"Oh, no getting off-topic!" He scolded her, looking mischievous. "You know." He said to the others who looked curious about their little exchange. "This kid has always been very shy about it, but she once did an amazing job as a model."

Everybody's eyes started shining. Kei as a model. They wondered what kind of brand she had represented.

"Ojii-san..." Kei's voice trailed off, as her head sunk in embarrassment. She buried her face in her hands.

"M-Model." From all of them, Rin looked the most curious by far, and so Akiba said:

"Yup, she was in a campaign for my diving school, you know. Well, basically Jun talked her into it, but still." He grinned and shrugged.

"We wanna see it!" Nagisa exclaimed, looking excited.

"Nagisa, no, you don't! It's so embarrassing!" She pulled at his shirt. But she didn't have a chance.

"I'm sure you were beautiful, Sempai." Rei reassured her.

"Beautiful?!" Jun suddenly exclaimed with dreamy eyes. "She was way beyond beautiful! She was like a creature from a fantasy! The pictures couldn't even capture her beauty at this moment!" He marvelled.

Kei just sat there, desperate to find a hole in the ground to swallow her whole.

"J-Jun-chan..." She mumbled, her face glowing.

But now everyone was eager to see her as a model and, at long last, the pictures of that time were brought out. They all were staring big-eyed at the album that was put in front of them. There were a few pictures of a fifteen-year-old Kei under water. But that really was not the point there. She was wearing a wig, coloured contacts, and, most importantly, a fin.

"A mermaid..." Makoto said, staring in astonishment.

"B-beautiful..." Rei covered his mouth with his hands.

Rin blushed, but was left speechless.

The girls were all fussy, complimenting her over and over again.

"Eh, Kei-chan, you reaaaally look good in that!" Nagisa exclaimed in wonder.

"No, I..." But Kei was at a loss of words. She really didn't want anybody to know this. "Ugh, go ahead and laugh." She waved at them, but the pictures were too mesmerizing, the guys couldn't possibly laugh.

Haru was staring intently at the album, so intently in fact, that Kei just smiply couldn't stand it anymore.

"Now, all of you, scatter along!" She got to her feet and shoved them away. "Go to bed, or I will torture you to death tomorrow morning!" Her voice was demanding indeed.

"Ah, we got coach Kei mad!" Nagisa said, but left the room immediately as a response. The rest followed along, which left only Haru staring at the pictures and Akiba as well as Jun smiled stupidly.

"H-Haru, you too! Don't look at that..." Kei tried to pull Haru away from the album but he was clinging to it with all he had.

"Cute." His voice almost couldn't be heard, but Kei had still recognised the word. "Very cute." Kei's head exploded and she felt steam coming from her ears. She dropped her hands that had clung onto his arm in her useless attempt to get him away from the pictures.

"Th-th-thank you..." She stammered, looking to the ground and twirling her thumbs.

"Alright, alright!" Jun squeezed in between Haru and Kei. "You really should go to bed as well, Nee-chan." He said pushing Kei out of the room.

"No, Jun-chan, I still have to clean up!" She interfered, glancing back at the messy table.

"Geez, I really would like you to stop calling me -chan already." He sighed and smiled at her. "I'll clean up, or better yet, let your clueless guys do the cleaning for you. They were useless in the cooking process anyway."

And so Kei had no choice but to leave for her bed, though, in the corner of her eye, she could make out Akiba handing Haru something, and chatting happily with him. She wondered what they might be talking about.

The next couple of days they were training hard under the observing eyes of Kei and Jun, who had no school either. He was clinging to Kei so much that Rin was to be irritated most of the time when he was around. The boys stopped cooking all along and were put on cleaning duty, since that was the most useful position for them to be in. To her horror, Kei had to find out that Akiba was still using her picture for advertising his diving school.

One morning they woke up and found a raging storm shaking the house. At breakfast, Kei and Haru let out a long sigh simultaneously, both wearing a dull expression.

"What's up, Kei, Haru?" Rin asked. He had tried to sit beside Kei, but one side was taken by Gou, and on the other one, Jun had squeezed in.

"Look at the weather!" Kei answered as she stared outside the window with a wrinkled forehead.

"No swimming today." Haru said, pouting.


	8. Chapter 8

"Yeah, that figures." Makoto commented and thought that in a way, the two of them were strangely similar.

"Heads up!" Jun said, trying to cheer up Kei. "There are a lot of fun things to do here, you know!"

Kei raised her eyebrows doubtfully and Jun fidgeted.

"Well, there's a really nice shopping mall around, and also, we could go for some Karaoke later." He suggested, staring into the round.

"Karaoke?" Gou's eyes started shining.

"Yup." Jun said, grinning. "And it's quite cheap as well!"

Even Kei started smiling again.

"Well, that sounds like a plan, doesn't it?" She was looking around, just to find the guys making some weird faces.

"I can't sing! It's a no-no for me!" Rei said, looking determined.

"Oh, Rei, don't be a party pooper!" Nagisa grinned, resting his chin on his hand.

"I don't know... I've never really done Karaoke." Makoto was hesitant and glanced at Haru.

"Karaoke...?" Rin looked as if someone had hit him. But he didn't want to go against Kei's wishes either. "Well, if that's what you want to do..."

Everyone was looking at Haru now who had said nothing so far.

"I don't care." He said and shrugged. "It's not swimming, so I don't care."

So they left for the shopping mall after breakfast. The girls were having a lot of fun, trying on clothes, while the guys were busy hanging about the sports shop.

They had arranged to meet up for a late lunch at a little family restaurant that served local delicacies. They all tried something different, when Haru, just as expected, chose the grilled mackerel.

"Oh, right, that reminds me, I promised to show you the seafood grill, right?" Kei asked and Haru nodded, as if he had never for a second forgotten about their promise.

"You... promised such a thing?" Gou asked. To her, just as about to everyone else, Rin's behaviour towards Kei was quite obvious, and of course she tried her best to support her brother's interests.

"Yup." Kei answered nonchalantly, looking at her friend. "Since Haru really loves Mackerel... but you know, we should really all go together, 'cause they have all sorts of great seafood, don't they Jun-chan?" She looked at him, sure that he knew which shop he was talking about.

"Um, yeah, they do..." Jun answered, who was just as cautious, seeing that Kei and Haru seemed strangely close at times.

"Then we definitely should go." Makoto said, trying to relieve the tension in the air. He was still trying to figure out the situation around his best friend and their childhood friend. but Haru's feelings were hard to read since he barely showed interest in anything else but swimming. However, Makoto had noticed Haru behaving strangely sometimes when Kei was around.

In that manner they finished lunch, Rin and Jun fighting for Kei's attention while the others were constantly trying to restore the peace and Haru just drifted off in his own world. Afterwards they went on to the Karaoke centre that Jun had talked about. It was rather crowded, but considering the horrible weather outside, that was to be expected. Still, they could find a booth for all of them, ordered drinks and settled down.

"So, who should start?" Kei asked.

"You're asking that, Senpai, but since you're the one who wanted to go..." Rei said and shrugged.

"Me? But that would be kinda embarrassing..." She answered hesitantly.

"Well, should we sing together?" Gou asked, to encourage her friend.

"Um... alright, that's okay I guess..." Still Kei looked a bit embarrassed.

"Then what should we sing?" Gou asked happily.

"Well... Actually I only know a few Japanese songs..." Kei blushed and averted her eyes.

"And which one?" Gou looked at her. But Kei was too embarrassed to say it out loud, so she whispered in Gou's ear. Gou broke into a wide grin and giggled.

"Okay, sure, if that's what you want to sing, I guess that's it." She said and pushed a few buttons. After a few seconds the intro of Ever Blue was playing.

"A-anime...?" Rei was looking confused.

"It's definitely anime." Rin looked bewildered.

"It's that, you know!" Nagisa said "That anime the girls were fussing about a few years ago. What was its name again?"

"Mermaid Melody." Haru said and had everybody's heads turning towards them.

"Haru, you know this anime?" Kei asked, surprised.

"Is it because it's about Mermaids?" Makoto asked.

"Well..." Haru blushed slightly and averted his gaze.

"Shsh!" Ama-sensei made. "It's starting!"

So everybody fell silent to listen to a cheerful Gou and an embarrassed Kei. It wasn't stunning, but somehow it still felt very calming and soothing to the ears. Haru closed his eyes while Rin couldn't avert his eyes from the singing Kei. Ama-chan-sensei, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei were left smiling gently.

"What a nice song." Makoto said at the end. "Very gentle."

"Isn't it?" Kei asked with a warm smile. "I like the feelings it conveys." She popped down beside Nagisa. "But now it's you guys' turn! Who wants first?" She was looking around, but none of them was too eager to start.

"You decide, Kei." Rin said since they couldn't come to an end there.

"Um... then... can I choose the song, too?" She asked, looking at Rin with big eyes.

"Uh... sure..." He couldn't possibly resist Kei like that. "So?"

"Well, you see, I always thought that you kinda sounded... like Mamoru-sama..." She said, still staring at Rin.

"Mamoru-sama?" Rin looked at here with a confused expression. "Who's that?"

"Miyano Mamoru-sama of course! There's this song..." Again she gave him the puppy-dog eyes.

"Uh... whatever you like." He stammered and blushed.

"Yay!" Kei entered the song cheerfully.

"Wh-what is that?" Rin asked when the first notes were played.

"'Prisoner' from 'Skip Beat!'" Kei answered, without any further explanation. "I think you'll sound amazing singing it..."

So Rin did. And indeed he sounded amazing, just too good to be true. All of them stared at him, unable to process what they were hearing.

"Onii-chan!" Gou's eyes were teary at the end of the song. "I never thought you had that in you!"

"I-I just..." Rin blushed and clicked his tongue.

"Rin, that was incredible! You just sounded too much alike! How cool!" Kei exclaimed and made Rin forget all about the embarrassment he'd felt by singing such a song. He grinned stupidly.

"I knew it!" Kei said then eyed Nagisa "I guess then..." Her eyes were full of excitement.

"Um, Kei-chan, do you want to choose my song, too?" He asked, grinning.

"Oh, I can't..." She answered, but kept looking like she'd be pleading in a minute.

"Well, go ahead, I haven't chosen anything yet anyway." Nagisa said.

"Yay! Nagisa, you're the best!" She gave him a little squeeze, then typed in the song. "'Pieces of Treasure' from 'Arcana Famiglia'. Oh it's a duet version... Jun, would you mind?" She looked at him with big eyes and of course he didn't. Soon they started singing. They didn't sound all bad and again Kei was overjoyed in her choice of song.

"I swear I can find a song for all of you!" She exclaimed grinning.

"D-Do you?" Makoto asked, a bit unsure of what to think of that.

"But, senpai, aren't they all anime songs?" Rei looked at her, a bit taken aback.

"W-well..." Kei blushed "I admit I'm a bit of an otaku." She cupped her face in her hands, embarrassed. The others were left surprised but amused. They sure hadn't expected that.

"So, who wants next?" She looked around in excitement.

To everybody's astonishment, Rei raised his hands.

"Well, might as well get it over with." He said in answer to their puzzled faces.

"Then, for Rei... Ah, I know! Rei has a very soothing voice, so, Hirakawa Daisuke, I think and the song should be... ha-ji-ma-ri no so-ra." She mumbled as she typed in the letters.

Unexpectedly, Rei gave his all in the song, which sounded like he was trying a bit hard, but it wasn't all too bad.

"Next one!" Gou exclaimed, grinning. She was very amused by Kei's sudden change in character. "This is so interesting!"

"Um, then, Makoto?" Kei looked at him.

"All right, all right, I'll do it." He said with a sigh. None of the guys could actually say no to Kei.

"Yay!" Kei took the song prospect "Oh yup, this one!" She put her finger on it.

"'Yesterdays' by Tatsuhisa Suzuki?" Makoto read aloud "Oh, I actually know that song."

He started the song and was actually surprisingly good at it, though his voice was quiet. Makoto wasn't the kind of person who would go all out in Karaoke.

"Ah, Makoto has such an onii-san feel to him, don't you think?" Kei asked Gou with dreamy eyes. "So caring!"

Gou nodded. "More of an onii-san than another one I know." She glanced towards a fretting Rin, who, sitting next to Kei, was all nervous. Kei chuckled. She loved the dynamic between Gou and her brother and was happy for the two of them to get along so nicely.

"Now only Haru is left, no?" Makoto asked after finishing his song.

"Yup." Kei said and looked at their friend. "Will you sing, Haru?" She gave him her best puppy dog eyes, and he was starting to feel rather uneasy with her staring at him like that.

"...ok..." He answered after a few moments

"Thank you, Haru!" Kei said in English. "Then yours will be Nobunaga Shimazaki with Towa ni Chikau!"

"Wow, such a powerful song." Makoto smiled, feeling a bit uneasy. He couldn't quite imagine Haru singing at all.

"You don't think it'll suit him?" Kei asked, suddenly looking unsure.

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" He tried to support her. He certainly realised that Kei was always somewhat more insecure around Haru. "Go ahead and play it." He smiled warmly.

And indeed, the song was perfect for Haru, though maybe a little too lively.

In the end, they spent some very fun hours in the Karaoke booth and only returned to the house when dawn was breaking already.

* * *

Just a little explanation here: Look up the Seiyuus of Free! and you'll find out what I mean with the songs, they're all from them.


	9. Chapter 9

They decided to walk along the beach, since the weather had calmed down overnight. Walking at different paces, the group was soon split into pairs of two or three. The sea was rushing calmly and the rising sun was incredibly beautiful. It dyed the baby blue sky in all variations of pink and orange. Kei, who had been trotting behind everyone tiredly, stopped and looked at the amazing scene before her eyes. Even though she loved the scene, she couldn't help yawning. It had been a long but enjoyable night. She decided to cool her feet, so she took off her shoes and kept walking in the slowly rolling waves. The feeling was wonderful, so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could smell salt and sand and everything beachy. Since it was so early in the morning, barely anybody was at the beach and it was calm, except for the distant chatter of her friends.

"Kei."

When she looked up, she was staring into Harus face and stumbled.

"Haru." She said, once she'd caught herself again. "You startled me."

"It's really nice here." Haru said, not bothering to comment on what she'd said. "This training camp was a good idea."

"Thank you." Kei smiled shyly. "It's a special place for me." Her eyes trailed along the beach, locking on the house they were approaching.

"That kid, Jun." Haru said suddenly. He really had a nick for changing topics fast.

"Yeah...?" She looked up at him.

"I think he's into you." He commented and Kei didn't know how to interpret the ring of his voice.

"Um..." She had no idea what to answer to that. "Well... maybe...?"

They walked side by side in silence for a while. Then, Haru changed the topic yet again.

"Mackerel." He looked at her with his clear blue eyes.

"What?" Kei really couldn't keep up with this guy.

"I want to eat mackerel." He said matter-of-factly. Sure. How couldn't she have known?

"What, now?" Kei asked and looked towards the others. They were all yawning and slumping along and obviously in desperate need for sleep. "You don't think we could all take a nap before going? I'm not sure the others want to go right now..."

"They don't have to come along." Haru's voice was calm, but Kei blushed immediately.

"Haru, do you know what you're saying?" She looked at him, befuddled. This guy had no common sense whatsoever. Her heartbeat sped up.

"Take me to the mackerel grill." He said stubbornly. "Alone." His voice left no room for objection, so Kei sighed and said:

"Well, okay, but we need to tell the others. They'll worry." She was accelerating her steps to reach them, but Haru grabbed her wrist. She turned around and stared at him in surprise.

"We'll text them later." He said. His eyes had gone full puppy-dog-mode and there was just no way she could disagree with him like that.

So off they went, leaving the others to go home first. Kei was glad the grill was within 15 minutes' walking distance from the beach house. She was tired, but she had to admit that she couldn't let such a golden opportunity go. She hated the fluttering in her chest that originated from being alone with Haru, but she couldn't deny it.

"Damnit." She cursed under her breath.

"Hm?" Haru looked at her curiously.

"Er, nothing. Say, Haru, how can you eat mackerel so early in the morning?" She asked to change the topic as they kept walking beside each other.

"I love Mackerel." He just said.

Kei chuckled. It was so like Haru to give that kind of answer. They arrived at the grill and Kei ordered a Mackerel for Haru and freshly pressed orange juice for herself. The grill had barely opened and the Mackerel was truly just off the hook. Together, they took a seat at one of the nearby plastic tables and watched the fishermen going about their business. As soon as Haru had taken the first bite of his Mackerel his eyes started shining. Kei smiled.

"It's good, right?" She asked, stirring her drink with her straw as she studied his face.

Haru nodded, mouth full, and dug in. Kei watched him silently. He was beautiful even while eating fish. She sighed. When they were kids, it had taken her months to find out what these feelings actually meant and now she could easily tell. The only problem was, she didn't want them now. They were a thing of the past and wholly out of place with her new position as Iwatobi's swimming coach. Suddenly, Kei felt extremely tired. The exhaustion took her over her and before she could stop it she slipped into a dreamless sleep.

She woke from a gentle swaying which she first mistook as lying in a boat. All the more was she shocked, when she realised that Haru carried her bridal style along the beach. Surprised and flustered she started struggling; so much that Haru lost his balance and they both tumbled onto the sand. Kei ended lying on top of Haru, stared at his face for a moment and then jumped up and took a few steps back. The guy himself slowly got to his feet, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ha-Haru!" Kei exclaimed, cheeks bright red. "What were you doing?!"

"You were sleeping." He explained quietly. "And I didn't want to wake you."

"Uh-huh..." Kei was extremely embarrassed. "Well, I'm awake now, so let's just go back, shall we?"

They walked the rest of the way in silence, Kei looking anywhere except at Haru and Haru studying her confusedly.


	10. Chapter 10

The last day of training camp broke unto the swimming club and Kei had decided to reward their hard work by inviting them all to the local ice cream parlour.

Haru's and Kei's disappearance after Karaoke had become quite a hot topic among the girls and Kei was sure that even the boys were running their mouths over this; but se was equally certain that Haru wouldn't say anything.

"I'm telling you, Gou-chan, nothing happened!" Kei pressed as Gou questioned her once again on their way to the parlour. They had dropped back from the guys a bit so their conversation couldn't be heard.

"Oh, please, Kei-senpai! You're telling me you went on a daybreak date with Haru-senpai and nothing, _nothing_ happened?" She looked at her friend investigating. She could tell that Kei felt differently for Haru than for anybody else.

"No, really! He just said he wanted to eat mackerel right then, which is why we went." Kei pressed.

"You could've told us earlier, instead of just disappearing, though?" Gou raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that…" Just as Kei was running out of explanations, they arrived at the parlour. "Oh, here we are!" She exclaimed in a forced cheerfulness, leaving a dissatisfied Gou behind.

"Oh, wow, this is heavenly!" Ama-chan-sensei said after having the first scoop of her ice cream.

"It's sourced locally!" Jun explained, sounding proud.

"Ah, this chocolate flavour is wonderful." The chocolaty taste spread in Kei's mouth as the ice cream melted on her tongue.

"Kei-neechan, ah!" Jun ordered her and out of reflex she did as she was told, only to have some of Jun's mango flavoured ice cream stuffed in her mouth. Surprised, she swallowed, choked and coughed.

"J-Jun-chan, what are you doing?" She exclaimed, her face red from coughing.

"I know you like mango." He winked and had another scoop of his sundae. "Ah, indirect kiss!" He tried to sound surprised, but didn't really bring it across very well.

"You creepy brat!" Rin had grabbed Jun by his collar and even Haru had gotten to his feet, looking grim.

"Onii-chan!" Gou was pulling at her brother's arm, while Makoto put a calming hand on Haru's shoulder. Kei blushed furiously at all the commotion they were making. She felt extremely ashamed as people around them started gossiping.

"You're way too cheeky for your age, you know that?!" Rin exclaimed, still having a hold of the younger and thus weaker Jun. But the other boy just stubbornly stared into Rin's eyes.

"What?" He asked, squinting his eyes. "Jealous?"

Rin exploded.

"Yooouuuuu!" He raised his fist, ready to punch some sense into Jun, when Kei shouted:

"Rin, Jun, stop this madness now!" She sprang to her feet as their gazes shot towards her. "I can't believe you guys, this was supposed to be the nice conclusion of this camp, and now look what you've done!" She gestured around them. "I can't stand you anymore, I'm leaving!"

And without looking back, she whirled around and started sprinting, running away from the embarrassment, from Jun's cheekiness, from Rin's hotheadedness and Haru's piercing eyes. She didn't want any of that. She knew they would try to follow her, so she didn't go back to the beach house. Instead, she went another direction; to the one place around that could always calm her heart. She was lucky she had brought her wallet, she thought, as she entered the aquarium. She knew the way and quickly found herself in the overhead tunnel where she sat down on the ground, leaning against the glass walls and looking up. The people's stares didn't bother her here, where she felt almost as if she was diving in the sea. Slowly, watching the fish pass above her, her racing heart calmed down. She only looked down when a familiar pair of boots appeared before her eyes. She turned away, watching the people around her.

"What do you want?" She asked, maybe a bit too roughly. She bit her tongue when a very apologetic looking Jun squatted down before her.

"I'm sorry." He simply said.

"Hm." Kei answered, feeling guilty but still annoyed.

"Nee-chan… no, Kei." He started after a moment. "I have something to tell you."

Kei looked up, surprised at his serious tone.

"Will you please come to the beach tonight?" He cocked his head expectantly and so she nodded.

"OK." She said hesitantly.

"Great." He smiled brightly. "See you tonight then, Kei!" And thus he got up, quickly running away. Kei thought his ears had somewhat turned red.

After a few more minutes she got to her feet as well, slowly making her way back to the beach house.

Arriving there, she found a fidgeting Rin waiting for her at the front door.

"Kei, I-!" He started, but she brushed him off gently.

"Rin, no, it's fine. I overreacted…" She said with a smile.

"No, really, let me say this!" He insisted. "I'm sorry. **_I_**overreacted, not you. I had no right to do that…" His voice trailed of and he looked so puppy-like, Kei could no longer be mad at him. She granted him a gentle smile and his cheeks turned slightly rosy.

"Thank you for apologising." She said, and added with a cheeky grin: "And, anyway, you've always been a bit of a hothead, right?" She winked at him, leaving him flustered as she returned to her room. Back in the house, she was glad that Gou and Ama-chan-sensei did not ask her any further questions, though they did seen quite uncomfortable.

The evening dawned and Kei got herself ready to meet with Jun at the beach. Of course she had a hunch, even she wasn't that dense, but she still felt uneasy about this meeting. But she had to give him a chance to express himself at least, didn't she?

So she went to the beach, where Jun was waiting, dressed up and looking very flustered. When he saw her approaching his face lit up. Kei had to admit that he made quite a fine young man, standing there in the setting sun on the beach. She sighed; why couldn't she just love him?

"Kei!" He approached her eagerly. "Would you like to walk for a bit?" 'He asked and she couldn't say no to his expectant eyes, so she smiled and nodded. As she didn't really know what to say they just walked beside each other in silence. After a few minutes, Jun turned to her. Kei couldn't tell if he had blushed or if the setting sun was tinting his cheeks red.

"Kei!" He said and grabbed her shoulders and she gasped, surprised at his sudden attack.

"Y-yes…?" She didn't know if she was ready for this yet.

"I am sure you almost noticed, but ever since we met back then I have always…" His voice broke, but he recollected himself. "I have always liked you! Please go out with me!" He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for her answer.

"Jun-chan…" Kei sounded as she felt: sorry. He slowly opened his eyes to look at her apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way…" Her chest stung.

"But, maybe, if we tried..!" Jun pressed on, with a desperate glint in his eyes.

"No, I don't think so, truly. I have always only looked at you as a little brother, I'm sorry." She looked to the ground, embarrassed and heartbroken. She really liked Jun, just not that way.

"But I am not your brother!" He exclaimed, grabbing her face and forcing her to look at him.

"Jun-chan…" Kei tried to avert her eyes.

"Kei!" And he was approaching her.

"No!" She murmured. She didn't want this, so she closed her eyes and tried to struggle free, but he had a very tight grip on her. Just a second before she thought he would kiss her, she felt a hand covering her mouth. As her eyes flew open, she found Haru standing with his back to her, squeezing in between her and Jun.

"Wha-?!" Jun exclaimed.

"She said she didn't like you that way, didn't she?" He asked with a calm voice. Because he was facing Jun, she couldn't see his expression, but she certainly was more that curious about it.

Jun's eyes had flown open and before another word could be spoken he turned on his heels and sprinted back to the house. When he had left, Haru released her.

"Haru! Since when have you been here?!" Kei asked as he turned to face her. He cocked his head, looking inquisitive.

"You didn't want to, right?" He asked calmly, not bothering to answer her question.

"Uh, yeah." She told him, blushed slightly and shifted her gaze to the ground.

"Good." He said and grabbed her hand.

"Haru?!" Surprised, her head shot up as he dragged her along. "What?"

"We're returning." He told her. "There's fireworks." And thus he ended the explanation.

"A-Ah…" Kei didn't know what else to say, so she followed him quietly.

During the fireworks they used that night Jun was absent and though Rin tried to catch her attention, Kei's eyes kept shifting towards Haru again and again.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning they were getting ready for departure, packing their stuff and loading the minibus. Kei was disappointed that Jun hadn't been at breakfast. She hadn't liked his behaviour the night before, but she didn't want him to avoid her, either. She knew her thoughts might have been a bit unfair, but she just wished for him to stay the little brother she had always seen in him. When Ama-chan-sensei loaded the last suitcase into the boot, Kei cast one last longing glance at the beach house. She had already said her goodbyes to Akiba who had left for work quite early. Suddenly, Kei felt a hand on the back of her head, patting her gently. She looked up and stared at Haru in wonder.

"Haru?" She asked, not sure what to make of his behaviour.

"Do you miss him?" He asked, as always responding in his unique way.

Kei looked back at the house and nodded.

"I wanted to say goodbye." She sighed and looked down.

"Okay." Haru said and grabbed her by the wrist. Pulling her along, he made his way to the house, ignoring the others' remarks.

"Hey, Haru, wha-?!" Kei, startled, exclaimed as she stumbled after him, but Haru just kept going without another word. He pulled her inside the house, straight towards Jun's room. Without knocking, he opened the door and shoved her inside. Kei turned to face him when he told her:

"I'm waiting outside." And closed the door.

"Kei…?" Jun's voice rang in her ears clear and bright and so she took a deep breath and turned towards him.

"Jun-chan." She started. Jun was standing by his bed, looking as surprised as she felt. "You weren't at breakfast." She said, at a loss for better words. Jun frowned, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked out of the window, studying the waves rolling slowly along the beach.

"I wasn't hungry." He stated.

Kei's chest hurt, she wanted desperately to run away, but she forced herself to face him properly.

"Jun-chan, listen." She began, taking a step toward him. He flinched, but kept his ground which she took as an implication to keep approaching him. "I realise how much courage it must have cost you to confess your feelings and I'm really happy you said that. But I simply cannot answer to them, I am sorry."

The silence hung between them like glue. Kei felt a heavy resistance slowing her movements.

"I knew." Jun said after a while. "I knew all along you never felt that way." He turned his head and finally, _finally_, looked her in the eyes. Kei could feel her tears welling up.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered again. Jun sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I swear, if you apologize once more, I'll have to attack you here and now." He told her sternly and Kei winced and Jun shot her an apologetic look. "I'm really sorry about yesterday, I lost it. I didn't mean to-"

"No!" Kei interjected. "It's… alright." She finally said.

"I never wanted this to come between us." Jun continued. "I jut didn't know how to face you after last night. I've always treasured you." He smiled sadly and now Kei's eyes grew dangerously wet. "Can we still be friends?" His expression was very insecure, but his face lit up when Kei, unable to speak, nodded furiously. She opened her arms and he reciprocated her hug.

"We'll always be friends." She told him in a hoarse voice. When they let go of each other she smiled at him. He ruffled though her hair and said.

"See you, Nee-chan!"

"Bye, Jun-chan."

And with those last words she went for the door. Just before she had gripped the doorknob, Jun raised his voice once more.

"Kei." He said and she turned around, looking at him enquiringly. "That guy from your club, Haru-" He began but Kei had scrambled to his side immediately when she heard that name.

"Ssshh!" She made, glancing towards the door. Jun followed her gaze and grinned.

"So you do like him! I knew it." He sighed and smiled. "He seems… complicated." He commented.

"I didn't exactly choose him!" Kei complained and only realised a second later that she had given herself away. She blushed and averted her gaze.

"That will be a lot of hard work, you know?" He asked and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't plan on acting on it." She told him and pouted.

"What?" Jun looked genuinely surprised. "Why not?"

"Haru doesn't care for these things; he never did. It's hopeless." She shook her head. "It's alright, I'm used to it." She shrugged and smiled at him, then someone knocked at the door and Rin entered, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Rin!" Kei exclaimed, surprised, "What are you doing here?"

"Fetching you." He said curtly. "Haru didn't let me enter, so I had to force my way in." He pointed at the other guy and Kei glanced behind Rin to study Haru. His expression was as unreadable as ever and she sincerely hoped he hadn't heard the last part of their conversation.

"Ah, haha." She blushed and glanced back at Jun. "Well then, Jun-chan."

"I'll see you again, Nee-chan. And then you'll have to tell me if it's still hopeless." He winked at her and she blushed.

"A-Alright." She stuttered and, accompanied by Haru and Rin, returned to the minibus.

"Say, Kei." Rin said after a few moments. "What did that kid mean by it's hopeless?" He looked more than curious.

"Tha-!" She had to hold herself back from glancing at Haru. "That's a secret between only Jun and me." She concluded.

"Huuuuh?" Rin made, scowling. However, he did not touch the topic any further.

"Kei-chan, hurry up!" A cheerful Gou grabbed Kei's arm and dragged her along before she had time to counter Rin's reaction. On their drive home the girls sat beside each other and while Makoto took his seat beside Ama-chan-sensei, Rei and Nagisa shared the same space which left Haru and Rin to sit beside each other. Although Rin generally enjoyed spending time with Haru, he had been feeling slightly irritated around his friend ever since Kei had returned.

"Say." He said quietly after they had driven for some while. Haru looked at him. "Doesn't it bother you?"

"What?" Haru's face was expressionless as always.

"That secret." Rin said, avoiding Haru's clear blue gaze. "Between Kei and that brat."

"Hm." Haru made, which didn't seem like much of a reaction, really, but it didn't escape Rin's notice that he was scowling ever so slightly.


	12. Chapter 12

After the training camp Rin returned to Samezuka academy and the Iwatobi swimming club fell back to its usual routine. Soon, the regional championship, for which all of them had qualified earlier in the year, were coming up. At the end of a harsh training day they all sat down in the clubroom.

"Okay boys, this year we're aiming for nationals, all right?" Kei all gave them an expectant look. Of course, considering the hours of research she had put in, she knew how they had done the year prior and she was setting their goals quite high. "All of you qualified in your specific style and you even made the jump with your relay. That's great, but we'll have to look at your overall times and compare them to the other competitors; especially Samezuka. Gou-chan." She let the very capable manager of Iwatobi take over from there and watched the boys as they all listened intently to Gou's explanation.

"There will also be a few scout at the regionals, so if you do well, you might get the chance to get scouted for a college team!" Gou explained, glancing at Haru.

The team's ace looked somewhat apathetic and in the middle of the conversation got up and headed for the pool.

"Haru?" Makoto was getting to his feet, but Kei stopped him.

"Stay here." She told him. "I'll go after him."

With those words she strode off and followed Haru to the pool, but not without changing first. As she had expected he was already taking turns in the water. She just watched him for a while as he kept swimming, the water illuminated by the setting sun. Sitting down by the edge of the pool, Kei put her feet into the water and waited for Haru to return. When he arrived at the starting block, he looked up and she smiled at him.

"Hey." She said. Without another word she slipped into the water as well. Drifting on her back she watched the clouds pass overhead. Haru copied her and soon they were floating alongside each other, silently studying the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kei asked after a few moments. She had to be very careful about approaching the topic she planned to talk about. Conflicts weren't her strength and hse had always been someone to avoid an argument.

"Hm." Haru made in agreement.

"Say, Haru." She began, glancing at him sideways.

"Hm?" He seemed distant, but then again, he was always kind of stuck in his own world.

"Is something bothering you?" She finally asked. She knew he would probably never confine in her, but she had to ask nonetheless.

"Not really…" Haru's voice trailed off.

Kei brought herself back into a upright position. She studied him and when he realised her gaze, he did the same, facing her full-frontal.

"What's wrong?" She asked again, looking into his eyes. If only she could make out what was going on in this head of his. "Why did you leave the meeting?"

"I don't care about times. Or winning. Or scouts." He said simply, but he still seemed somewhat upset.

"Hmmm." Kei dwelled on those words a little. She somehow felt lost. How could she be a proper coach if he wouldn't talk to her? She felt the sadness like a heavy weight on her shoulders. She glanced up into the sky again, trying to find the right words. "Have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future? I mean, surely you want to be a professional swimmer, right?" When she looked back at him, his eyes had become cold and his expression stony. Kei gasped, subconsciously taking a step back; a shiver was running down her spine. She had never seen him like this before.

"I don't care about the future." He said curtly and made his way out of the pool without delay.

Before Kei could recover from his icy gaze, he was already heading for the changing rooms. In the last moment she snapped out of it and called after him.

"Haru, wait!" She swam to the edge of the pool. "You can't just avoid this forever!"

But he was already gone. Kei's heart sunk as she stared after him at the closed door.

When she finally returned to the changing rooms, the boys had left already. Only Gou was waiting for her, worry clouding her usually lively eyes.

"Kei-senpai." She said. "Is everything okay?"

At the sight of her friend the heavy feelings she had been holding back bubbled up again. She blinked when the first tear trickled down her cheek.

"Senpai!" Gou exclaimed, hurrying over to her, but Kei just shook her head and smiled.

"It's nothing, don't worry!" She told her. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"It's not alright!" Gou protested, looking at her crying friend. "You're crying!"

"Ah, that?" Kei asked, putting up a cheerful front. "My eyes are just stinging from the water, I think. Anyway, I think I'll take a shower now, you can go home first, Gou-chan!" And then, before her smile broke, she turned and hurried towards the showers.

The hot water felt great on her skin; however it failed to warm her up from the inside. She stepped out of the shower and dried herself. With her hair still wet she grabbed her phone. She didn't know why, but somehow she felt that he was the right person to talk to. So she called his number. After a few rings he answered.

"Hello? Kei, is that you?!" A flustered Rin asked over the phone.

"Hello Rin." She said. His voice brought a smile to her face. "Yeah, it's me."

"Uh…" Rin made. "Are you calling for a specific reason?"

"Actually, yeah, I am." She said and got up to her feet. She opened her locker and stared at the picture of the five of them as children. Gently she brushed over it with her finger tips.

"…So?" Rin asked after a while and suddenly Kei realised she hadn't talked for the last minute.

"Ah, haha, sorry Rin, I got distracted!" She told him.

"…Is that so?" Rin sounded doubtful but, considerate as he could be, he didn't pres sher into talking."

"Yeah." She leaned back against the locker and stared at the ceiling. "I was wondering what you are doing this weekend?"

"Uh… huh? This weekend?" His voice went up a notch and Kei giggled.

"What, if you're busy, that's okay!" She assured him.

"Wh- no, no! It's fine, I'm not busy!" He quickly said. "Instead I'm free, very free!"

"Free, huh?" She laughed quietly. "You almost sound like him…" She murmured.

"Hm? What?" He enquired, apparently not having heard her.

"Ah, it's nothing." She told him. "So, would you like to meet up on Saturday?"


	13. Chapter 13

"So? Where do you want to go?" Rin asked once they'd boarded the train. Kei had met with Rin at Samezuka, causing a stir in the all-boys' school when she waited for him at the front gates. It was Saturday, but most of the boys who were boarding and were still on the grounds. Rin had hurried to shield her from the male attention and she had led him to the train station.

"I was thinking the aquarium." Kei said, trying to sound cheerful, but inside she was still hurt and confused.

"The aquarium?" Rin asked, not sounding very enthusiastic.

"Bad idea?" She looked guilty, so Rin sighed and smiled.

"You really remind me of Haru sometimes, you know." He shook his head and Kei stared at him, shocked. Just in time she caught herself and said:

"Oh. Really?" But she didn't wait for Rin to answer; instead she just stared out of the window, watching the world fly by.

Rin studied her, but something kept him from questioning her strange behaviour, so he just followed her gaze and tried to calm himself. When she had asked him out he had been ecstatic. He had spent the morning frantically sorting out his appearance, which let to him being late and having to save her from the starving boys of Samezuka. The moment he'd seen her he knew something was wrong; her usual, cheerful smile had been replaced by a very artificial one. She hadn't said much the entire time they'd walked to the station and Rin was at a loss of what to do. So he had decided just to go along with her and see what would happen.

The train soon arrived at their desired station and they got off. It was a short walk to the aquarium and Kei tried to fill the deafening silence by initiating a conversation.

"So… Rin." She started.

"Yes?" He looked at her expectantly and she realised how rude she had been, inviting him and yet keeping quiet, not trying to keep up the mood.

"Um…" She looked to the ground, feeling even more beat. "How are things in the club?"

"…good." Rin answered. "Everyone is very enthusiastic, they all have high goals for this season."

"That's nice." Kei said, smiling. "Ah, here we are."

They stood in front of the aquarium and stared at the giant dolphin sign at the entrance. Somehow, this reminded her of Haru. Kei grit her teeth and shook her head.

"Something wrong?" Rin asked her.

"Huh? Ah, no, nothing!" She assured him a little too hastily. She could see the doubt in his eyes, but was glad that he didn't press the topic. Really, Rin was such a nice guy. She should try to be at least a bit more attentive towards him. "Let's go!" She said, grabbed his wrist and pulled him along.

The aquarium was beautiful, with a large mid-section and many small tunnels to wander in. Kei shoed the different fish to Rin, explaining their origins and characteristics. With her father being a diving instructor they had, of course, spent most of their holidays snorkelling or diving, him taking pictures of the colourful sealife and her exploring the vast ocean grounds. She had learned much from him; her father had been her stronghold after her mother's early death and she had received nothing but love from him. It had been hard to convince him that she could return to Japan for her last year, but after some time, she had turned him around. He was worried about her and had called her every day in the beginning, which she had managed to limit to once per week. He knew almost everything about her, but some things she'd left unsaid.

"Heh, you're so knowledgeable about this." Rin mused when they had come to eat lunch in a nearby restaurant.

"Well, I am my father's daughter!" She explained proudly and Rin smiled gently. Kei blinked, surprised. She never knew Rin could show such an expression. But she was even more surprised that it made her heartbeat go up, if not as much as Haru did.

"How is he doing?" Rin asked and Kei snapped back to reality when she realised he had just asked her about her father.

"Oh, you know him!" She said, waving him off, grinning. "He's doing fine, although he keeps whining about how much he misses me. If I didn't love him that much I think I'd hate him."

Rin chuckled.

"Ah, that sounds reasonable." He smirked.

"Oh, come on!" She complained and pouted. "You know what I mean! I'm sure you-" She caught herself before she continued. Rin's father had died a long time ago; how could he have experienced the same? A red-hot needle of guilt pierced her heart and she shifted her gaze to the side.

Rin watched her expression turn from cheerful to very guilty and he disliked it. It was true, he had lost his father, but since Kei had had a similar experience, he had always felt somewhat connected to her. Even when he had still thought her a boy she had held a special place in his heart.

"Kei." He said and she looked up, her eyes teary. "I know what you mean." He grinned. "I feel the same about Gou." She blinked at him. "Now stop worrying." He told her in mock seriousness and she smiled, relieved.

"Okay." She said.

From there, the conversation shifted to school matters and Kei was happy he had taken her blunder so lightly. They happily chatted away over lunch. Even though Rin offered to pay her bill, she insisted on them paying their own share and so he gave in eventually. They headed back to the train station. They had still some time left until their train come and Kei discovered an aquarium gift shop close by.

"Huh? Why here?" Rin asked, confused.

"Um, I guess because the aquarium's quite popular around here." Kei shrugged and pulled him inside. Kei's eyes started shining when she saw the array of sealife goodies neatly stacked in the shelves. She roamed the aisles and stopped in front of a box of small plushies.

"Rin, look, look!" She exclaimed excitedly. Rin, walking listlessly behind her, stopped as well and studied the insides.

"Plush animals, huh?" He looked only mildly interested.

Kei roamed through the box and pulled out a toy. She held it in front of Rin's face and grinned.

"Look, it's you!" She told him in a mischievous tone.

"What?" Rin looked baffled as he stared at the little shark she waved in front of his nose. He took it and mustered it. "Why a shark?" He asked her, sounding worried. Kei chuckled and said:

"Hm, the aggressive king of the ocean."

"King of the ocean?" Rin's eyes started shining. "That's what you think of me?"

"You forgot aggressive!" She scolded him and grinned when he made a hurt face. "In a good way." She tried to explain.

"How's aggressive good?" Rin murmured, but he still looked happy.

"Ah, here, that's Makoto!" She pulled out an orca and handed it to him. He found the animal weirdly appropriate for his friend. "And Nagisa." She put a small penguin in his hands. "Heh, and that's Rei!" She mused and pulled out a flying fish from the pile.

"Are you going to get one for everyone?" He asked and frowned. She looked up to him and cocked her head.

"Well, they are only 200 Yen." Kei shrugged and returned her attention to the basket while Rei just stood there, holding on to the plushies she had already picked out. He saw her take a dolphin from the pile and staring at it for a while with a solemn expression.

"Is that Haru?" He asked, trying to break her out from her trance. She jerked and stared at Rin, then slowly nodded, forcing a smile.

"Uh, yep, appropriate, don't you think?" She wanted to hand him the dolphin, but, instead, Rin angrily shoved the animals in her arms.

"Now it's my turn." He told her and roamed through the box of plushies until he found what he'd been looking for. "Here, that's you." He said and showed her his pick. Kei stared blankly at the stuffed animal.

"An… octopus?" She asked incredulously. "That's what you think of me?" She stared at him, unsure what to make of that.

"Ah, well!" Rin said quickly, trying to defend his choice. "It's because, bell, you see!" He fumbled with his words. "You know, not the fastest swimmer, but definitely best at diving, right?" He stared at her, waiting for her reaction. He did not expect her to start laughing out loud.

"What, is that supposed to be a compliment?" She asked between to waves of laughter.

"Er…" Rin just watched her laugh, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. "Fine then!" He said, putting the octopus back into the box.

"No, wait!" She grabbed his hand that still held on to the plushie. His face instantly exploded in red. "It's cute, I want that!"

"I'll get it for you, then." He said and pouted, but felt really happy.

They purchased their stuffed animals and boarded the train back to Iwatobi.


End file.
